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[gunbladegrrl]

[After classes ended, Maria had snuck off to Balamb Town without much notice, hoping once again that she'd find what she wanted there.]

[Now she's coming back in, with a massive (if almost feral) grin and a spring in her step that shouldn't be there when she's weighted down by her massive weapons case. But despite the burden, she's bursting at the seams with sheer delight.]

[What's up with that?]

Comments

[bot_builder]

[Jack raises an eyebrow at the scale and obvious heaviness of the case.]

Do you always carry around an entire armory?

[gunbladegrrl]

[..must be someone new? She offers a friendly smile no matter how critical his tone might be; Maria was in way too good a mood to be brought down now.]

No, only when I need to move them around without breaking the 'no weapons' rules.

[bot_builder]

Pretty sure that's "no using weapons", but whatever.

[He does smile back--or maybe that's still a smirk. It's right at that point where it's kind of hard to tell.]

Why the big move? You switching rooms? Leaving us, maybe?

[gunbladegrrl]

[Still too happy! Can't crush her cheer!]

I was visiting them junk shop in Balamb Town, looking for the parts I need to upgrade my weapons.

[bot_builder]

[And suddenly he's genuinely interested. Kind of excited, even.] You upgrade your own weapons? That's super keen. What kind of weapons?

[gunbladegrrl]

Yes. You get an overview of that from class, but I've been reading Weapons Monthly for years.

[She drops her case on the ground, then flips the latches so the top falls open. Inside, carefully strapped in and cushioned, are a pair of gunblades, looking brilliant and new -- because, well, they've just been upgraded!]

[bot_builder]

Oh really? I haven't got that far yet... Didn't realize it was, y'know, common...

Is that all that's in there? I thought you had one of every weapon or something, the thing was so big and heavy. [He still looks interested though.]

[After a pause:] What are those things? They're weird-looking.

[gunbladegrrl]

Oh, you MUST be new. These are gunblades. As near as I can tell, they're a weapon entirely unique to this world... at least, no one from off-world has ever seen or heard of weapons quite like them.

[bot_builder]

[He grimaces a little at the "new" thing--being new has very rarely been a good thing for him.]

Gunblades, huh? What do they do, if they're so different from everything else?

[gunbladegrrl]

[She glances around, just to make sure that no one is gonna rush up and chastise her, then unstraps one of them to lift it up, flat, on the palms of her hands.]

They're a melee weapon, like a sword, but when the trigger on the grip is pulled like you would with a gun, it sends an explosive shockwave down the blade, amplifying the power of a strike.

[bot_builder]

So it's kind of like being part electric knife?

That is so nifty. I have to learn how those things work. So they're taught in... [thinks back, trying to remember the course catalog] ..."Bladed Weapons", I guess, right? Do they really let you take them apart?

[gunbladegrrl]

There's a basic overview in WTR101 -- that's the introductory course, but it's really perfunctory. You learn a lot more about them in the more advanced classes.

Every weapon should be properly upgraded! But especially gunblades, since a gunblade that isn't powerful enough can't channel the full strength of a Limit Break.

[bot_builder]

H-uh. I'll have to take that next quarter.

Where I'm from, most people don't upgrade their own stuff. They either let it be out of date, get a new one entirely, or get someone else to fiddle with the thing.

I sorta made a job for myself out of just fiddling with things. I had basically no competition.

...

"Limit break"?

[eiusumbra]

What's got you so happy? [The sight of her burden and a bounce in her step is odd.]

[gunbladegrrl]

I finally found an electromagnet!

[eiusumbra]

Uh...that's great? [So very lost.]

[gunbladegrrl]

That was the last item I needed to get my gunblade upgraded!

[It really IS great!]

[eiusumbra]

You could have said that earlier.

How long will the upgrades take?

[gunbladegrrl]

Already done, sir. I just got back from the Balamb junk shop. [She pats her case with a grin.]

[eiusumbra]

[Smirks]

Care to test it out?

[gunbladegrrl]

I'd love to, sir.

[More than love to. Her good mood sinks higher -- lower? -- a notch or two into outright battlelust.]

[eiusumbra]

Don't think I'll take it easy on you. [And with that he walks towards the training center. It's been a while since he had a chance to spar, so Shadow is doing a good job of hiding his excitement.]

[gunbladegrrl]

I wouldn't want you to, sir.

[She hefts her case again, doing a POOR job of hiding her excitement -- even as she rationally expects to get clobbered by him at range. She also takes the time to double-check all her Junctions... wouldn't do to have forgotten something the last time she swapped out a GF.]

[eiusumbra]

[Once they reach the training center, Shadow turns to Maria, noticing that she still has that bounce in her step.]

We should probably establish a few rules. [If only to cover his ass should they get in trouble.] Stay out of the secret area. If you get injured, say so and don't play it off. [He pauses in thought, because he isn't sure what else to say.] Anything else?

[gunbladegrrl]

What are we considering 'injured'? With all respect, sir, if you fail to put a couple of bullets in me pretty quickly I'll be surprised, but I'm Junctioned enough to not die from it.